Cocks and the like fluid distributors, chiefly those controlling the pneumatic braking of vehicles



June 1, 1965 L. MODRIN 3,186,435

COCKS AND THE LIKE FLUID DISTRIBUTORS, CHIEFLY THOSE CONTROLLING THE PNEUMATIC BRAKING OF VEHICLES Filed Dec. 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 4 00A? MODP/A BY I v m ATTORNEYS.

June 1, 1965 L. MODRIN 3,186,436

COCKS AND THE LIKE FLUID DISTRIBUTORS. CHIEFLY THOSE CONTROLLING THE PNEUMATIC BRAKING OF VEHICLES Filed Dec. 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 u. 18 H I 1s 2 i b 19 /1a 4 8 Y INVENTOR: A 00/5 MODE/N ATTO RN EYS.

United States Patent COCKS AND THE LIKE FLUID DISTRIBUTORS,

CHIEFLY THOSE CONTROLLING THE PNEU- MATIC BRAKING OF VEHICLES Louis Modrin, Saint-Etienne, Loire, France, assrgnor to lAuxiliaire de IIndustrie et des Mines Auxim, Salut- Etienne, France, a company of France Filed Dec. 5, 1961, Ser. No. 157,121 4 Claims. ((11. 137625.22)

The present invention relates to distributors or cocks, in particular pneumatic shut-off cocks, adapted to control the braking of railway or similar vehicles.

In such cocks, of which the plug moves obviously in a fiuidtight manner, inside its shell, it is necessary, when the cock is closed, to set the exhaust end of the cock into registry with the downstream section of the pipe line in which the cock is inserted.

To this end, and as disclosed in the French Patent 1,172,520, dated December 21, 1955, the plug of the cock is provided with at least two bores located respectively in the superposed planes of two series of ports, of which series one serves for the passage of fluid from the upstream end towards the downstream end, while the other allows connecting with the atmosphere the downstream end through the agency of a shunting channel obtained in the casting with the cock shell.

The presence of said shunting channel in the plug requires casting a part which is comparatively intricate and therefore costly and which is moreover brittle, by reason of said channel projecting outside the shell, so that it is liable to be damaged in the case of any shock arising.

A first object of the invention consists in cutting out said drawback by ensuring said shunt provided for the exhaust section into the atmosphere when the cock is in its closed position by means of an oblique bore formed inside said plug and opening at one end into the outer surface of the plug in the medial transverse plane of the channel perpendicular to the bore connecting the ports on the upstream and downstream sides of the plug and, on the other hand, into the bore connected with the atmosphere.

This leads to a more economical structure, since it requires a simple oblique bore formed in the plug without any weakening of the shell.

A further improvement relating to such a cock consists in ensuring fiuidtightness between the plug and the shell by means of a sealing sleeve of the type disclosed in the French Patent 1,095,281 dated March 15, 1954, obtained through molding of a single part of a yielding and elastic material provided in its wall with ports registering respectively with the ports in the shell and with which they are held in registry, said ports being surrounded each by a circular bead providing for the fiuidtightness of the passage through said ports and being associated with two further beads located at the ends of the sleeve in planes perpendicular to the axis of the cock and ensuring the fluidtightness of the caps of the latter.

A third improvement consist in ensuring the positioning of the plug respectively in its open and in its closed position by means of a grip keyed to said plug and incorporating a spring-urged handle carrying a stop adapted fluid, any risk of said sleeve being driven into rotation inside the shell by the plug.

The invention covers also, by way of a novel article of manufacture, any distributing system of the type considered, such as a cock for the pneumatic .braking of vehicles, incorporating at least partly the above-referred to arrangements.

The invention will be readily understood from the reading of the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing the cock in its closed position providing exhaust into the atmosphere at its downstream end.

FIG. 2 is an elevational View, partly in axial section, taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view in transverse section taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view in axial section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a plan view similar to that of FIG. 1, but with the plug in an intermediate position between its closed and open positions, the view being partly broken away and shown in section to illustrate details of construction.

The cock which is illustrated is constituted chiefly by a cylindrical plug or control member 1, housed inside a body portion or shell 2 closed at each end by a cap 3 secured to said shell by the screws 4. The shell 2 is provided with two necks, to wit: the inlet connection or neck 5 through which the compressed air enters the cock and the outlet connection or neck 6 through which said air is distributed by the cock. The neck 5 is thus located upstream of the cock and the neck 6 on the downstream side. Both necks open into the inner cylindrical surface of the shell 2 through axially aligned ports shown respectively at 7 and at 8. The shell is provided furthermore with another or third port 9 located in a transverse plane outside that of the ports 7 and 8 and angularly displaced with reference to the latter along the periphery of the shell.

As to the plug 1, it is provided with two cylindrical bores extending across it at different levels, axis of the bore 11 lying in a transverse plane passing through the center of the aligned ports 7 and 8 and the axis of the bore 12 lying in a transverse plane passing through center of the port 9, the axis of bore 11 being parallel to the axis of the bore 11.

The plug 1 is additionally provided with an oblique bore 13 connecting the bore 12 with the periphery of said plug at a location 14, at the same level as the bore 11, but located between the openings at the ends of the bore 11.

The fluid tightness of the cock is obtained by a unitary sleeve 15 made of yielding and elastic plastic material such as rubber, provided with circular openings located in registry respectively with the ports 7 and 8 and with the port 9. Each of said circular openings is surrounded by an annular bead which projects beyond both the inner and-the outer surfaces of said sleeve. The beads shown at 16 surround the ports 7 and 8 and the bead 17 surrounds the port 9. For reason of symmetry and of centering of the plug, a further head 17 is located at a point diametrically opposed to last-mentioned bead 17. The sleeve 15 is provided, furthermore, at each of its ends, with a bead 18 lying in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the sleeve.

The fluidtightness of the cock is thus obtained under all circumstances without it being necessary to proceed with a special adjustment of the plug 1 inside its shell 2.

When the plug 1 occupies the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the cock is in its closed position and the openings of its bore 11 do not register with the ports 7 and 8. However, the outlet port 8 is connected with the atmosphere through the outer end 14 of the oblique bore 13 and through the bore 12 which registers with the port 9 in the shell. The pipe line connected with the neck 6 is therefore no longer under pressure and the fluid is permitted to escape into the atmosphere.

When the plug 1 is rotated, the openings of its bore 11 are brought into registry with the ports 7 and 3, so that the upstream pipe line which is connected with the neck is placed in communication with the downstream pipe line opening into the neck 6, said downstream pipe line then being no longer in connection with the exhaust, since the outlet end 14 of the oblique bore 13 no longer registers with the port 8.

It should be remarked, as shown in PEG. 4, that a sm all tube section 19 is fitted into the port 9 so as to enter the opening in the sleeve located in registry therewith, which prevents the sleeve 15 from rotating in the body portion 2 and avoids any risks of the sleeve 15 being rotated along with the plug 1.

The outer end of rotary plug 1 terminates in a foursided projection 21 over which is fitted the end of a grip 22 to which is pivotally secured at 23 a handle 24 subjected to the action of a compression spring 25. Said handle 24 carries a locking dog 26 on its inner end.

The outer surface of the cock cap 3 adjacent the foursided projection 21 carries, along its periphery, three shoulders 27a, 2712, 2'70 defining between them two recesses 28 adapted to receive selectively the locking dog 26 for the closed and open positions of the cock. When urging the handle 24 transversely towards the grip 22, the dog 26 is withdrawn from the recess 28 within which it was held and it is thus possible to move the grip 22, so as to shift from a position defining either the closedor open position of the cock into its other position. The two extreme shoulders 27a and 270 are broader than the intermediate shoulder 27b, so as to extend outwardly as abutments limiting the movement of the grip 22 and preventing the grip 22 from being moved beyond either of the two positions.

The angular stroke of the handle 24 with reference to 'the grip is limited by a stop 30 formed on the handle 24 so as to permit the dog 26 to be withdrawn from either of the recesses 28 without being capable however of moving beyond the two limiting shoulders 27a and 270.

Obviously, and as apparent from the preceding disclosure, the invention is by no means limited to the sole embodiment, disclosed hereinabove by way of example, of a cock designed more particularly for the pneumatic braking of vehicles and it includes various modifications and applications of said embodiment, whatever may be the type of fluid distributor considered, falling within the scope of the accompanying claims.

What I claim is: 1. A shut-oif cock comprising: (a) a body portion having a first cylindrical bore formed therein; 7 (b) a cylindrical control member revolubly disposed in said first bore coaxially therewith, said control member being revoluble' between a closed position and an open position; (c) means included in said body portion defining a first port; (d) an inlet connection communicating with said first port; (e) means included in said body portion defining a second port coaxial with said first port and of the same configuration as said first port, the common axis of said first and second ports intersecting the axis of said first bore perpendicularly with respect thereto;

(f) an outlet connection communicating with said second port;

(g) means included in said body portion defining a third port in communication with the atmosphere, a plane containing the axis of said first bore and passing through the center of said third port being angularly inclined with respect to said common axis of said first and second ports;

(h) said control member having a second bore formed therein which is coaxial with said common axis when said control member is in said open position, the configuration of said second bore being the same as that of said first and second ports for simultaneous registry therewith in said open position;

(i) said control member havinga third bore. formed therein, the axis of said third bore lying in said plane who said control member is in said closed position, the configuration of said third bore being the same as that of said third port for registry therewith in said closed position;

(j) said control member having a fourth bore formed therein, the axis of said fourth bore being obliquely inclined with respect to the axis of said control memher, one end of said fourth bore being in communication with said third bore and the other end of fourth bore communicating with said second port when said control member is in said closed position,

(k) means connected to said control member for rotating the same between said open and closed positions;

(l)a cylindrical sealing member disposed in said first bore, said sealing member being interposed between the internal surface of said first bore and the external surface of said control member, said sealing member having a plurality of apertures formed therein, each aperture being in registry with one of said ports, and

(m) a tubular member carried by said body portion and disposed in said third port, said tubular member extending into the one of said apertures in said sealing member which is in registry with said third port for holding said sealing member against rotation in said first bore.

2. A shut-off cock according to claim 1, wherein (i) said third bore is parallel to said second bore.

3. A shut-off cock according to claim 1, wherein (g) said plane is perpendicular to said common axis of said first and second. ports.

4. A shut-01f cock according to claim 1, wherein said ports are circular and all of said bores are cylindrical and in which all of said bores except said fourth bore are through bores, said fourth bore being a blind hole.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 733,503 7/03 McGuire 137-625 .24 XR 1,450,811 4/23 McGahey 137-62524 2,864,580 12/58 Lemoine 2513 17 2,944,566 7/60 Modrin 251-3 17 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 1,061,012 11/53 France.

707,702 4/54 Great Britain.

M. CARY NELSON, Primary Examiner.

ISADOR WEIL, Examiner. 

1. A SHUT-OFF COCK COMPRISING: (A) A BODY PORTION HAVING A FIRST CYLINDRICAL BORE FORMED THEREIN; (B) A CYLINDRICAL CONTROL MEMBER REVOLUBLY DISPOSED IN SAID FIRST BORE COAXIALLY THEREWITY, SAID CONTROL MEMBER BEING REVOLUBLE BETWEEN A CLOSED POSITION AND AN OPEN POSITON; (C) MEANS INCLUDED IN SAID BODY PORTION DEFINING A FIRST PORT; (D) AN INLET CONNECTION COMMUNICATING WITH SAID FIRST PORT; (E) MEANS INCLUDED IN SAID BODY PORTION DEFINING A SECOND PORT COAXIAL WITH SAID FIRST PORT AND OF THE SAME CONFIGURATION AS SAID FIRST PORT, THE COMMON AXIS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND PORTS INTERSECTING THE AXIS OF SAID FIRST BORE PERPENDICULARLY WITH RESPECT THERETO; (F) AN OUTLET CONNECTION COMMUNICATING WITH SAID SECOND PORT; (G) MEANS INCLUDED IN SAID BODY PORTION DEFINING A THIRD PORT IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE ATMOSPHERE, A PLANE CONTAINING THE AXIS OF SAID FIRST BORE AND PASSING THROUGH THE CENTER OF SAID THIRD PORT BEING ANGULARLY INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO SAID COMMON AXIS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND PORTS; (H) SAID CONTROL MEMBER HAVING A SECOND BORE FORMED THEREIN WHICH IS COAXIAL WITH SAID COMMON AXIS WHEN SAID CONTROL MEMBER IS IN SAID OPEN POSITION, THE CONFIGURATION OF SAID SECOND BORE BEING THE SAME AS THAT OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND PORTS FOR SIMULTANEOUS REGISTRY THEREWITH IN SAID OPEN POSITION; (I) SAID CONTROL MEMBER HAVING A THIRD BORE FORMED THEREIN, THE AXIS OF SAID THIRD BORE LYING IN SAID PLANE THE SAID CONTROL MEMBER IS IN SAID CLOSED POSITION, THE CONFIGURATION OF SAID THIRD BORE BEING THE SAME AS THAT OF SAID THIRD PORT FOR REGISTRY THEREWITH IN SAID CLOSED POSITION; (J) SAID CONTROL MEMBER HAVING A FOURTH BORE FORMED THEREIN, THE AXIS OF SAID FOURTH BORE BEING OBLIQUELY INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIS OF SAID CONTROL MEMBER, ONE END OF SAID FOURTH BORE BEING IN COMMUNNICATION WITH SAID THIRD BORE AND THE OTHER END OF FOURTH BORE COMMUNICATING WITH SAID SECOND PORT WHEN SAID CONTROL MEMBER IS IN SAID CLOSED POSITION, (K) MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID CONTROL MEMBER FOR ROTATING THE SAME BETWEEN SAID OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS; (L) THE CYLINDRICAL SEALING MEMBER DISPOSED IN SAID FIRST BORE, SAID SEALING MEMBER BEING INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE INTERNAL SURFACE OF SAID FIRST BORE AND THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF SAID CONTROL MEMBER, SAID SEALING MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF APERTURES FORMED THEREIN, EACH APERTURE BEING IN REGISTRY WITH ONE OF SAID PORTS, AND (M) A TUBULAR MEMBER CARRIED BY SAID BODY PORTION AND DISPOSED IN SAID THIRD PORT, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER EXTENDING INTO THE ONE OF SAID APERTURES IN SAID SEALING MEMBER WHICH IS IN REGISTRY WITH SAID THIRD PORT FOR HOLDING SAID SEALING MEMBER AGAINST ROTATION IN SAID FIRST BORE. 